Intermittent Fasting

I started fasting basically, just to keep myself in a calorie deficit for the week. Since lockdown and the nice weather (well before this week anyways) I’ve been drinking more than usual on the weekends and ordering more take-aways than I usually would. To have the freedom to do this and not pack on the pounds, I usually lower my calories for the beginning of the week so I have room left to indulge a bit on the weekend. This works well for me. 

I heard about fasting from a few different people, and some swear by it so I thought I would give it a go. Initially, just as a way to keep my calorie intake for the week low enough to have a few drinks on the weekend. 

The first time was hard, because I thought about it too much and didn’t keep busy, but once I didn’t put so much pressure on myself it wasn’t so bad. I found I actually felt amazing and even energized afterwards. The longest I’ve done is 24 hours but I am going for 36 hours this week!

During my fasting window there were times I felt hungry, but after reading more about IF (intermittent fasting), I understood what was happening in my body and was able to just push through. 

Can you eat or drink anything!?

While I’m fasting I drink black coffee or tea, and water with lemon and pink Himalayan salt. Apparently the pink Himalayan salt restores electrolytes, and it also makes me less hungry.  You can also use a broth cube in hot water and it will feel like you are having a meal. There are loads of different ways to fast, this is just what was recommended to me.

So what happens when you don’t eat? 

Without going into too much detail or making it too confusing, i’ll explain a little bit about what happens when you fast. 

Basically, the food you eat doesn’t get used equally; some fats and sugars are used for energy, and whatever is left over is stored in your liver, muscles and as fat tissue. When you fast, your body starts to use the leftover sugars like the glycogen in your liver for energy, but when this runs out it turns to other sources like stored fat. When your body breaks down stored fat for energy, some compounds are used by your liver to make ketones. When your body starts using ketones for energy, this is called ketosis. (This is where the ketogenic diet comes from – but unfortunately has been widely misinterpreted by people thinking they can eat as much protein and fat as they want, be in a caloric surplus and still lose weight) …

I didn’t even know this before I started fasting, but apparently, ketones produce less inflammatory products as they are being metabolised than glucose, which is why some people (myself included !) claim they felt a positive mood and mental clarity.

What the fack is Autophagy?

After about 24 hours of fasting your cells go into autophagy. Autophagy removes damaged cellular components including misfolded proteins that can lead to a number of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s. It basically cleans out old cells to make room for new ones. In some cases, manipulating levels of autophagy along with treatment can even reduce tumors of certain types in cancer patients. (1)

I had no idea of any of this when I first started, I was only fasting as I said to keep my calories for the week lower. ( I also retain a lot of water after drinking, my face gets all poofy and I found that fasting really flushes me out) but now that I know about this, I want to try and last longer! There is a lot more cool shit that happens the longer you fast – Growth hormone skyrockets after 48 hours which helps maintain muscle mass, and after 54 hours insulin levels drop which can make you more insulin sensitive. After 72 hours your body is breaking down old immune cells and generating new ones. (2)

But my stomach is grumbling….

Before your body goes into ketosis you will start to feel really hungry because your empty stomach produces ghrelin – which tells your brain to find food. You might hear slash feel your stomach growl…this is when I make sure I am drinking lots of the water – salt mix, or maybe have a stock cube in hot water. I also find if I go for a walk or keep myself busy the hunger subsides. 

Fasting for fat loss

If you eat every time you feel hungry you will constantly be breaking down food for energy and will rarely dip into stored fat. Also, when your body senses sugar entering the bloodstream, it makes insulin which tells your cells to store energy as fat. BUT if you are using intermittent fasting to lose body fat and think you can eat whatever and how much you want in your feeding window your are mistaken.

IF is the same as any other ‘diet’ for fatloss – calories in< calories out.  The main reason IF works for fatloss is because depending on how long your are fasting for and how often, you will be missing meals and consuming less calories. BOTTOM LINE. For example, if your last meal was 5pm tonight and you didn’t eat again until 5pm tomorrow, you are missing at least 2 meals. Say your meals are 500kc each usually, that’s 1000 calories you aren’t eating that you usually would! 

But doesn’t fasting make you lose muscle?

Protein is much harder for the body to break down than sugar and fats, so it is the last thing it will turn to for energy. Studies have shown that a little bit of protein will be used along with the sugars and then stored fat, but no more than any other ‘diet’ where you are restricting calories. Just make sure you are getting adequate protein during your feeding window. 

Can you train while fasting?

Go about your day as normal and do everything you usually do when you are fasting. I wouldn’t recommend a heavy weight session A) because you won’t have the energy and B) you won’t have the nutrients to repair the tears in your muscle properly. However, I don’t see anything wrong with light exercise. I usually fast on Fridays and I teach a HIIT class in the morning and I haven’t died. I also usually go for a walk or do some yoga. I like to keep busy to keep my mind off eating. But just do what feels right for you!

Should I fast?

Fasting isn’t for everyone, it just happens to fit in with my lifestyle. When I was working in Raw, I would wake up at 4:30 and have black coffee; I never eat when I first wake up. Then I would be so busy until about 2pm that I wouldn’t have time to eat so my first meal would be at 2 or 2:30pm. Without even realising I was fasting for about 16 hours or longer, so trying to go for 24 hours without food wasn’t as bad as you would think.

If you are thinking about trying it out, maybe start with 12 or 16 hours and slowly work your way up. I was going to try for 36 hours my first time and was like Fuck that at about 20 hours. Fasting is definitely a mental thing. If you think too much about it, it will be more difficult. You just have to get past the tummy growls. Drink lots of water and keep busy.

The best part – Re Feed!

Make sure your first meal is a good one! Don’t gorge out on junk food, have a healthy, well rounded meal with loads of veggies. I love a big salad with a bunch of different veg, cous cous, and avocado.

AND REMEMBER! If you are fasting for fat loss, remember: to lose body fat CALORIES IN < CALORIES OUT. BOTTOM LINE. Fasting does not mean you can eat whatever you want and how much you want during your feeding window and still lose weight.

Hope this was helpful! I am by no means an expert, I’ve only just started, but this is a bit of what I have learned so far!

If you want to learn more, there is great information for vegans on https://www.nomeatathlete.com/intermittent-fasting/

I also started using this ap https://lifeapps.io/apps/life-fasting-tracker/ , to track my fasts. There is also a lot of good information on it. I do think it is geared towards people who are obese, but I still find it really helpful.

If you have any questions or want to try one with me, send me an email below!